HARVESTING DEVELOPMENT The Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (NIAS) is funded by the govern- ments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden via the Nordic Council of Ministers, and works to encourage and support Asian studies in the Nordic countries. In so doing, NIAS has been publishing books since 1969, with more than one hundred titles produced in the last decade. Nordic Council of Ministers HARVESTING DEVELOPMENT THE CONSTRUCTION OF FRESH FOOD MARKETS IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA Karl Benediktsson Copyright © Karl Benediktsson 2002 All rights reserved. First Published in Denmark by Nordic Institute of Asian Studies (Simultaneously published in North America by The University of Michigan Press) Printed in Singapore No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Benediktsson, Karl Harvesting development : the construction of fresh food markets in Papua New Guinea 1.Food supply - Papua New Guinea 2.Farm produce - Papua New Guinea I.Title II.Nordic Institute of Asian Studies 381'.4'5'6413'009953 ISBN 87-87062-92-5 (cloth) ISBN 87-87062-91-7 (paper) Contents Illustrations … vi Tables … viii Vignettes … viii Acknowledgements … ix Abbreviations … xii 1Introduction … 1 2Markets, commoditization, and actors: spacious concepts … 22 3Faces in the crowd: Lives and networks of selected actors … 54 4Fresh food movements in a fragmented national economy … 81 5Fresh food markets, their history and operation in the Eastern Highlands Province … 118 6 The travelling tuber: Kaukau and its commoditization … 153 7Economic dimensions, daily practice, and social networks in the long-distance trade … 187 8 Locality, land, and labour: Processes of production in Lunube … 223 9Harvesting development through the market? Actors, theory, and practice … 266 Glossary … 277 List of botanical terms … 279 References … 281 Index … 302 Illustrations MAPS 1Papua New Guinea … 6 2 Eastern Highlands Province and the Asaro Valley … 7 3 The territory of Lunube … 10 4Resource extraction projects … 85 5Urban centres … 90 6Goroka … 93 7Staple crops … 106 8Major cash crops … 107 9Major interregional flows of fresh food … 113 10 Main market gardening areas in Eastern Highlands Province … 130 11 Land types in the Lunube territory … 225 12 Movements of Lunube groups since about 1930 … 227 13 Main food garden of Gumineve and Kondagule … 235 14 Main food garden of Moroho and Nesime … 237 15 Main food garden of Moses and Soni … 239 PLATES 1 Kasena from the air … 12 2 Kasena from the ground … 14 3 Carrots brought for sale at ADF, Goroka … 135 4 From Goroka market … 142 5 From the market at Asaro … 143 6 Saina at the main market in Lae … 199 7 Carriers on the way from garden to roadhead … 201 8 Lae-bound truck loading kaukau … 203 9 Urban market traders attempting to buy kaukau … 218 10 Woman harvesting marketable kaukau tubers … 238 11 Taim bilong kopi … 242 12 Man handing out pork at a mortuary exchange ceremony … 247 13 Man tending kaukau garden … 252 14 Tractor tilling land for kaukau … 254 vi FIGURES 1Social groupings in Lunube from the perspective of the Gamizuho … 13 2Gumineve – household and next of kin … 57 3Kondagule – household and next of kin … 58 4 Gumineve and Kondagule – social networks … 62 5Moroho – household and next of kin … 64 6 Nesime – household and next of kin … 65 7Moroho and Nesime – social networks … 66 8 Moses – household and next of kin … 69 9Soni – household and next of kin … 70 10 Moses and Soni – social networks … 71 11 Expenditure on food, drink, and stimulants in urban areas … 102 12 Most important crops sold at ADF’s depot in Goroka … 129 13 Monthly shipments of kaukau from Lae to Port Moresby, and prices received by coffee growers … 189 14 Kaukau retail prices in three urban areas, 1971–95 … 192 15 Kaukau prices in various marketplaces, 1995 … 195 16 Gender division of kaukau sellers in different types of markets … 197 17 Land cover on the fan east of the main hauslain at Kasena … 249 vii Tables 1Selected Papua New Guinean economic indicators … 83 2Dominant staples and population in the agricultural systems … 104 3Produce sold at ADF’s depot in Goroka, 8 May to 7 June 1995 … 128 4Examples of wholesale buying price, marketplace price, and retail price … 133 5Marketplaces: no. of sellers and items sold … 141 6Returns from sales trips from Kasena to four different markets … 196 7Plots managed by Gumineve and Kondagule … 234 8Plots managed by Moroho and Nesime … 236 9Plots managed by Moses and Soni … 239 10 Population, land, and basic demographic parameters … 258 Vignettes 1Show bisnis – the commoditization of culture … 87 2A voice of moderation … 97 3Jesus in the marketplace … 146 4It’s a truck’s life … 209 5Nasty surprises … 211 6 Oral accounts of the origins of the Gamizuho people … 229 7 ‘Ol i no wanbel’ … 261 viii Acknowledgements EM I NO ISI (It Is Not Easy) was the title of a song by Papua New Guinean popular musician, Basil Greg, that dominated the country’s Top Ten for a long time during my fieldwork in 1994–95. It frequently emanated from my neighbour Tevi’s tradestore, which may explain why it is still popping up in my head every now and then. In any case, the title of this song well sums up the task facing me when expressing my gratitude to all those who have contributed to the completion of this book: Em i no isi. The book is a reincarnation of a PhD dissertation completed in 1997 at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. The study was made possible by an ANU PhD Scholarship. A preliminary trip to Papua New Guinea was made under the auspices of the Land Management Project of the ANU, whereas the main part of fieldwork was financed by the Department of Human Geography. During fieldwork I was affiliated with the Department of Agriculture and Livestock (DAL) in Port Moresby. I am grateful to the director of its Research Division, Balthazar Wayi, for his assistance. Sue Holzknecht in Canberra led me the first faltering steps into the world of Tok Pisin – a language that I soon learned to love. David and Gladys Strange in Sydney, previously long-term residents of Kasena, shared some of their extensive knowledge of the Dano language and local culture. My thanks to the Gamizuho people of Kasena, and to the other Lunube people whose daily lives were subject to my curiosity, would not fit in a single bilum, even if those remarkable string bags are known for their capacity to expand. Only a few names can be mentioned. Very special thanks are due to Rex and Nellynne, who let me use their house, and who taught me so many things. So did Gumineve and Kondagule, Moroho and Nesime, Moses and Soni, Michael and Benaso, Steven and Monika, and Lulu. I likewise thank my next-door neighbours for their joviality, stories, and frequent gifts of food: Guhize, Agnes, Omau, Mikasimo. Garuhe, David, and Steven Gumulihe acted as occasional fieldwork assistants in Lunube. Hirengove and Maria, George, Megi, Gorumaru … the list is potentially endless. I have to revert to collectivities: to those of Kasena yet unnamed, as well as the people of Openga, Aladuka, Roka, Nahoma, Kenemba, Pikosa, Asaro, Kofika: Tenkyu tru, olgeta. ix HARVESTING DEVELOPMENT In Goroka, I was fortunate to cross paths with Michael Hughes at DAL. His willingness to talk about issues that bothered and/or puzzled me was much appreciated, as was his seemingly boundless hospitality. The same could be said about Michael Alpers and Deborah Lehmann at the PNG Institute of Medical Research. Big thanks also to Barry Combs and Anne Baird, Ranjan Deb, Gerard Stapleton, and many other temporary or permanent citizens of multicultural Goroka. In Aiyura, assistance was gained from Mathew Kanua at DAL’s High- lands Agricultural Experiment Station, and his staff. I also benefited from discussion with Roger Selby at the Coffee Research Institute. The staff of the Fresh Produce Development Company assisted me in many ways, in particular Michael Daysh in Mt. Hagen and Maxie Dominic in Port Moresby. I am also grateful to staff at the various fresh food trading firms and other institutions, who tolerated my nosiness and supplied information. A generous dose of thanks also to Diane Lloyd, and to Flip van Helden and Inger Stocking, who kindly put up with me for some time towards the end of my fieldwork in Madang and Port Moresby respectively. Margaret Aparo was another in- valuable contact in the capital, as were Wasi and Moruwo Domai. Turning to the ANU’s Department of Human Geography, thanks are due to all and sundry: technicians and other general staff, fellow students, and academics. Few shall be named, certainly nobody is forgotten. Above all I thank Bryant Allen, who supervised the dissertation research. Michael Bourke provided valuable advice, as well as frequent excuses to go camping. I also benefited from the advice and editorial experience of Gerard Ward. Last but not least, I want to mention Robin Hide, who advised me at the beginning, but then fell seriously ill when on fieldwork himself in Papua New Guinea. Having returned to his usual enthusiastic self, he resumed his advisory capacity for my study, albeit informally. In the latter part of the writing period he was particularly generous with his extensive ethnographic knowledge and his keen literary sense. During post-dissertation times I have continued to clock up debts. A grant from the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies made it possible to stay in Copenhagen for a period in 2000 to work on the manuscript.